


Here in the Dark

by BloodOnUrsuline



Series: Dreams and Disasters [1]
Category: Pacific Rim (2013)
Genre: Eventual M rating for later entries, F/M, Gen, Mostly Fluff, Nightmares, PTSD, Post-Film, Slow Moving, part of a series, spoilers for the movie
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-07-15
Updated: 2013-07-14
Packaged: 2017-12-20 05:58:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 944
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/883740
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BloodOnUrsuline/pseuds/BloodOnUrsuline
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Life after the War meant peace for us all. But that doesn't stop the nightmares, especially for those of us who've stared death in the face and dragged it back to hell.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Raleigh

It happens less now.

I wake up in a cold sweat, panting, feeling like my throat has closed in on itself and no air can get through to me. The shaking panic and fear that somehow wraps me in iron bands and refuses to relinquish hold. Flashes of Yancy and the horrifying emotional tidal wave when he died. He tried to tell me I did nothing wrong. He tried to tell me he loved me. He thought of me when he died, of leaving me behind. Even in the pain of being bitten in half and being actively digested by the acids in the Kaiju’s mouth, he thought of me. Flashes of Kaiju teeth scraping past my shoulder and ribcage, my skin nothing to razor-sharp bone teeth. Six years and the memories still surface hotter than lava, burning any serenity I have to nothing.

But like I said, it happens less now.

Instead of dropping back into my hard bunk and hoping I didn’t disturb any of the guys working on the wall with me, a soft wash cloth soaked in icy cold water is gently rubbed across the back of my neck. The white noise of terror is replaced by softly spoken words, alternating between my native English and her native Japanese. Closing my eyes, I lean into her arms, the ones braced around me as she brings me back to the present. Back to soft sheets, warm blankets; the smell of orchids on the window sill and the lilac bush just beyond the glass; to yielding skin and strength like titanium.

A few minutes pass as she slips into silence, the wash rag tossed to the floor so she can keep me as tight as comfortable. The first time this happened, she hugged me so hard I could barely breath, bringing us both back to our escape from the Rift when she thought me dead. We laughed quietly about it, months afterwards, but her strong arms kept me grounded and brought me back every time. Now she’s guiding me back and the pillows have never felt so cool and comforting. I twist, wrapping one arm around her middle while the other comes up to hold her arm in place around my shoulders. Our breath creates a small spot of heated air between us before I tuck my face into her shoulder. My eyes close when she presses butterfly kisses to the crown of my head, whispering comforts with and without words.

I’ll pass out in a few seconds but my guardian will stay awake just a bit longer. She protects me from the monsters in my head. And I sleep soundly once more.


	2. Mako

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "If someone goes beyond for you, be ready to go beyond for them."

My brother always said, “If someone goes beyond for you, be ready to go beyond for them”. I never thought about his moments of philosophy and zen, mostly because they were beer infused and annoying as hell. But for some reason, this one stuck with me. Maybe it’s because we were at war then, his brain and my brain in direct contact. Maybe it’s because he told me this a few hours before he was killed, one of the last pearls of wisdom to his little brother. Whatever the reason, this stayed with me.

And on nights when Mako begins to cry, I realize exactly what he meant.

Now, when my nightmares hit, she tells me I break out in a sweat, eyes moving rapidly behind closed lids, muttering incoherently and a figeting that ramps up until I either wake on my own or she gets me awake. Mako is different. It starts with tears, soft sniffling and moving on a side to breathe better. Then she begins to shake. At first it makes the sheets appear to have been caught in some soft breeze but it worsens to where any ordinary person would think she was having a seizure. Whimpering turns to fearful cries and by then I’m wide awake, hands on her shoulders and gently squeezing as I’m calling out to her. Suddenly, her eyes burst open, bloodshot and watery. I go from touching her shoulders to keeping us from rolling off the bed from the force of her; she throws herself into my arms and squeezes tightly.

Mako, Pentacost’s brave girl, the world’s brave pilot of Gypsy Danger, and my fixed point, breaks only in this private darkness of ours. Quiet, strong, and sweet in the day, a perfectionist like few could aspire to be; a woman just as lost as myself in the night where REM sleep proves just as terrifying as any battle we’ve been in.

So a night after my nightmares I’m holding her, whispering that it is just a bad dream, that she is safe, that I’m here and I’m not leaving her. Her hold tights incrimentally at that; that’s how I know she dreamed about Pentacost again, about his sacrifice so we could end the Kaiju Wars. The catagory 5 that rose up, worse than any monster Godzilla could battle or even become himself. Her memory is crystal clear (trust me, I’ve been in her head) so the images less sting so much as they slice and twist for her.

She passes out against my chest, arms around my middle, head turned so she can hear the steady thump of my heart. I lay half sitting up, watching the trees beyond the window start to shiver in the wind. Off in the distance, thunder rumbles. The world will be soaked with fresh rain and by tomorrow morning, the green will be bright and lush.

I sink back into the pillows, pulling Mako closer. I fall asleep and thankfully dream of nothing.

**Author's Note:**

> This started out as a drabble that expanded out of my head rather quickly. This will be a lot small shots and pieces and will be further explained as they get posted. Between this and my other lead story "Howl", I'll be posting sporadically. Thanks for reading!


End file.
